So Microsoft killed the Kin, 6 weeks after its release. There is now an unfortunate trend starting at Microsoft, from a consumer perspective, of quitting out of their projects very early on: just last April, it was both the Courrier and the Slate. The Slate was the highlight of Ballmer's keynote to CES.

What's so surprising about the Kin is that it was axed so soon after its release. I mean fail fast is one thing but if your consumers start worrying that every time you put out a new product you might discontinue it, you've got all sorts of problems. This is especially true in the hot-red, media-hyped market that mobile computing currently is.